Let's Talk Some DEFENCE

[Blitz]

With the number of posts hitting the stratosphere, as our Leos and every other offence in the CFL tries to cope with blitzing defenses, this post focuses on the other side of the football.

The number of interceptons in the CFl is the lowest in CFL history. Its noticible. The game is changing. Phillips led our defense with 4 interceptions. This season, so far, Cord Parks leads us with 3 interceptions. Our Leos is actually tied for the league lead with 12 interceptions.

Almost all offences in the CFL are becoming more conservative in their passing game.

Posted below are some reasons why...from an article in today's Province.

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B.C. Lions: I-N-T no longer spells success, as Leos' DBs well know

By Lowell Ullrich, The Province September 12, 2013


Josh Bell always knew there was a place for him in the defensive secondary of the B.C. Lions from the moment he joined the CFL team a year ago, and not just because he felt he had sufficient cover skills.

On this team, and indeed in this league, you need not possess a superior ability to make an interception to gain regular employment these days.

Since joining the Lions, Bell has been part of a trend in three-down football that is making it exceedingly difficult for those playing his position to pull off the preening celebrations that often occur after a pick.

The reason is that fewer interceptions are taking place than at any point in league history. Bell’s rookie season in 2012 marked the fewest picks (137), and league research suggests this year could be even lower, with defenders averaging only one pick in every 37 passes thrown in a game. Up until last season, the average rate of thievery since 1954 has been one interception in every 21 passes.

It was a monumental event the last time Bell played the Montreal Alouettes, who are back for a return match Sunday at B.C. Place Stadium. The short-side halfback had a late-game pick against rookie Alouettes quarterback Tanner Marsh. It was the first interception of Bell’s pro and college career, spanning some nine years. No wonder he fits right in with the Lions.

“I’ve taken some ribbing,” Bell admitted about his pick-less numbers.

What the Lions and opposing teams are witnessing is a changing of a style of play that doesn’t reflect the typical view of three-down football as a league of razzle-dazzle, long-distance throws.

It’s conservative, but also highly successful. Five of the eight teams currently are completing in excess of 60 per cent of their pass attempts, and if it stays that way, not surprisingly it too will be a league record. Short passes are the new running play. Purists may cringe, but the new CFL is the old NFL.

“It’s almost as if quarterbacks are being like Shaquille O’Neal,” suggested Bell. “They’re taking a high-percentage throw almost as if it was a high-percentage shot. They’d sooner take a layup or a dunk. They’re allowing you to beat yourself with missed tackles.”

No play better amplified that thought than when Bell got his hands briefly on what would have been his second career pick Saturday in Guelph, Ont., against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Hamilton receiver Andy Fantuz outmuscled Bell, and his subsequent 37-yard romp for a touchdown sent the Ticats rolling on their way to a 37-29 win.

B.C. is actually on a roll lately, with eight interceptions in its last three games to vault into a share of the league lead — tied at 12 with Saskatchewan. But gone are the days when Less Browne or Larry Crawford were the football equivalent of a vacuum in the defensive secondary of the Lions.

Cord Parks, playing his first CFL season at wide-side corner for the Lions, is the team leader in interceptions. Parks has three.

“Honestly, I think the quarterbacks in this league are doing a good job,” assessed Parks, who was one of the few Lions who didn’t get a pick against Als in their last meeting, when two Montreal quarterbacks threw five into opposing hands.


It is no way to impress friends and colleagues in a peer group where for years interceptions have almost been a measure of self-worth.

“I need to get the ball, some way, somehow,” admitted Ryan Phillips, who led his team with a whopping four picks last year and is the career active leader on the Lions ahead of Dante Marsh and Korey Banks.

“But you have to understand now that your opportunities are limited.

“You’ll see that completions are up but yardage is down. Quarterbacks are not taking as many chances.

“Sometimes quarterbacks press. Later on when teams are trying to make the playoffs they’ll take more chances. Most of the years I’ve had a lot of interceptions I’ve had most of them towards the end of the year. The guy who gets the last four picks is going to be the one who gets named an all-star.”

That’s a comforting thought for a player who is many picks away from such a distinction, as is Bell, whose mere presence demonstrates that there is more to defensive coverage than interception totals.

“I was licking my chops when I first came into this league because there’s more (passing) opportunities,” said the Lions sophomore, who spent four seasons with three NFL teams. “Now, I don’t care if they complete 12 straight passes on me, as long as they’re 12 catches for five yards.”

Indeed, in the new CFL there’s no reason to get picky

[MexicoLionFan]

For all this cognitive reasoning Bltiz, I still maintain the biggest reason why there aren't more INTs is that DBs, almost universally, have horrible hands...just look at our 2013 Lions...we lead the league with 12 picks about half way through the season...okay, how about this...

* LaRose has dropped 4 certain INTs already this season...and not just ones he might of had, these are 4 that you just shouldn't drop
* Bell has dropped 2 certain INTs
* Marsh has dropped 2
* Phillips has dropped 2
* Banks has dropped 2
* Matt McGarva dropped 1

That's 13 for sure, sure INTs that our "Boards For Hands" secondary has dropped this season...if they caught even 8 of these, we wouldn't even be reading this article...

[DanoT]

For all this cognitive reasoning Bltiz, I still maintain the biggest reason why there aren't more INTs is that DBs, almost universally, have horrible hands...just look at our 2013 Lions...we lead the league with 12 picks about half way through the season...okay, how about this...

* LaRose has dropped 4 certain INTs already this season...and not just ones he might of had, these are 4 that you just shouldn't drop
* Bell has dropped 2 certain INTs
* Marsh has dropped 2
* Phillips has dropped 2
* Banks has dropped 2
* Matt McGarva dropped 1

That's 13 for sure, sure INTs that our "Boards For Hands" secondary has dropped this season...if they caught even 8 of these, we wouldn't even be reading this article...

Frankly, I'm not surprised by the number of int drops by DBs because if DBs had good hands then they would be playing on O as receivers and making more $.

[South Pender]

I'm not sure we should read too much into the numbers LU provides. Statistics fluctuate from year to year, and not much more than random chance is usually the explanation. Frankly, I haven't witnessed a big drop-off in long passes. His statement that "Purists may cringe, but the new CFL is the old NFL" seems slightly off to me. The short, possession, passing game is the West Coast Offense and has been used, in one form or another, by many CFL teams in the past, so I wouldn't dub it the "new CFL." To me (with a strong statistical bent), we need to look at long-term data before forming conclusions like this.

As for Bell, I'd say that few interceptions has been the least of his problems.

[ziggy]

Pressure equals quick short passes which give the defender less chance of a pick. On the flip side if the Blitz fails the receivers that are deep are often wide open, so no one is in position to intercept.

[ziggy]

Pressure equals quick short passes which give the defender less chance of a pick. On the flip side if the Blitz fails the receivers that are deep are often wide open, so no one is in position to intercept.

[Blitz]

I'm not sure we should read too much into the numbers LU provides. Statistics fluctuate from year to year, and not much more than random chance is usually the explanation. Frankly, I haven't witnessed a big drop-off in long passes. His statement that "Purists may cringe, but the new CFL is the old NFL" seems slightly off to me. The short, possession, passing game is the West Coast Offense and has been used, in one form or another, by many CFL teams in the past, so I wouldn't dub it the "new CFL." To me (with a strong statistical bent), we need to look at long-term data before forming conclusions like this.

As for Bell, I'd say that few interceptions has been the least of his problems.

I totally agree as do I agree with ziggy that the increased blitzing over the past two seasons has resulted in more of a shorter passing game.

As for defensive backs universally not having good hands, that doesn't explain why the picks are down because it they universally had bad hands the interception rate would be close from year to year. I do agree that most defensive backs do not have the hands of a receiver but I've also seen some defensive backs with great hands. I think Korey Banks has really excellent hands.

[MexicoLionFan]

I'm not sure we should read too much into the numbers LU provides. Statistics fluctuate from year to year, and not much more than random chance is usually the explanation. Frankly, I haven't witnessed a big drop-off in long passes. His statement that "Purists may cringe, but the new CFL is the old NFL" seems slightly off to me. The short, possession, passing game is the West Coast Offense and has been used, in one form or another, by many CFL teams in the past, so I wouldn't dub it the "new CFL." To me (with a strong statistical bent), we need to look at long-term data before forming conclusions like this.

As for Bell, I'd say that few interceptions has been the least of his problems.

I totally agree as do I agree with ziggy that the increased blitzing over the past two seasons has resulted in more of a shorter passing game.

As for defensive backs universally not having good hands, that doesn't explain why the picks are down because it they universally had bad hands the interception rate would be close from year to year. I do agree that most defensive backs do not have the hands of a receiver but I've also seen some defensive backs with great hands. I think Korey Banks has really excellent hands.

Banks has made some great catches...what I see is that the younger, newer DBs are bringing terrible hands with them to the pros...where's Larry Crawford when you need him?

[Rammer]

I'm not sure we should read too much into the numbers LU provides. Statistics fluctuate from year to year, and not much more than random chance is usually the explanation. Frankly, I haven't witnessed a big drop-off in long passes. His statement that "Purists may cringe, but the new CFL is the old NFL" seems slightly off to me. The short, possession, passing game is the West Coast Offense and has been used, in one form or another, by many CFL teams in the past, so I wouldn't dub it the "new CFL." To me (with a strong statistical bent), we need to look at long-term data before forming conclusions like this.

As for Bell, I'd say that few interceptions has been the least of his problems.

I totally agree as do I agree with ziggy that the increased blitzing over the past two seasons has resulted in more of a shorter passing game.

As for defensive backs universally not having good hands, that doesn't explain why the picks are down because it they universally had bad hands the interception rate would be close from year to year. I do agree that most defensive backs do not have the hands of a receiver but I've also seen some defensive backs with great hands. I think Korey Banks has really excellent hands.

Banks has made some great catches...what I see is that the younger, newer DBs are bringing terrible hands with them to the pros...where's Larry Crawford when you need him?

Sometimes all that is neede is a Joe Fourquen type to just simply knock the ball down.

[B.C.FAN]

I don't want to turn a defensive thread into an offensive debate but some perspective is needed in discussing the drop in interceptions across the league. While the number of interceptions has fallen sharply this year, the average gain per pass and the number of big pass plays has generally risen over the past three years. Offences are throwing more deep balls and they're more efficient at it. Two of the best deep-ball throwers in the league, Ricky Ray and Darian Durant, have combined for 36 TD passes with just 2 interceptions. Here are some stats comparing the first 10 games of the past three seasons across the league:

Completion %:
2011 62.0
2012 64.4
2013 64.3

Interceptions:
2011 74
2012 74
2013 70

Big pass plays (30+ yards):
2011 112
2012 136
2013 137

Yards per pass attempt:
2011 8.0
2012 8.3
2013 8.4

It's possible that defensive players have dropped more passes this year and that the interception totals will pick up in the second half of the season but the overall evidence points to a more wide open but highly efficient passing game. My theory as to why this is happening is that the best passers are exploiting teams that blitz and play a lot of cover zero by successfully throwing over the top.

(Edited to correct number of 2013 interceptions through 10 games to 70)

[South Pender]

I don't want to turn a defensive thread into an offensive debate but some perspective is needed in discussing the drop in interceptions across the league. While the number of interceptions has fallen sharply this year, the average gain per pass and the number of big pass plays has generally risen over the past three years. Offences are throwing more deep balls and they're more efficient at it. Two of the best deep-ball throwers in the league, Ricky Ray and Darian Durant, have combined for 36 TD passes with just 2 interceptions. Here are some stats comparing the first 10 games of the past three seasons across the league:

Completion %:
2011 62.0
2012 64.4
2013 64.3

Interceptions:
2011 74
2012 74
2013 60

Big pass plays (30+ yards):
2011 112
2012 136
2013 137

Yards per pass attempt:
2011 8.0
2012 8.3
2013 8.4

It's possible that defensive players have dropped more passes this year and that the interception totals will pick up in the second half of the season but the overall evidence points to a more wide open but highly efficient passing game. My theory as to why this is happening is that the best passers are exploiting teams that blitz and play a lot of cover zero by successfully throwing over the top.

Wonderful data, B.C. Fan. Looking across the three years, none of the differences would, in my opinion, be statistically significant. We need a full season of data to detect any changing trends, I think--maybe even more than that.

[ziggy]

I don't want to turn a defensive thread into an offensive debate but some perspective is needed in discussing the drop in interceptions across the league. While the number of interceptions has fallen sharply this year, the average gain per pass and the number of big pass plays has generally risen over the past three years. Offences are throwing more deep balls and they're more efficient at it. Two of the best deep-ball throwers in the league, Ricky Ray and Darian Durant, have combined for 36 TD passes with just 2 interceptions. Here are some stats comparing the first 10 games of the past three seasons across the league:

Completion %:
2011 62.0
2012 64.4
2013 64.3

Interceptions:
2011 74
2012 74
2013 60

Big pass plays (30+ yards):
2011 112
2012 136
2013 137

Yards per pass attempt:
2011 8.0
2012 8.3
2013 8.4

It's possible that defensive players have dropped more passes this year and that the interception totals will pick up in the second half of the season but the overall evidence points to a more wide open but highly efficient passing game. My theory as to why this is happening is that the best passers are exploiting teams that blitz and play a lot of cover zero by successfully throwing over the top.

Do these numbers include YAC yards as well BC Fan, makes a difference as far as int's are concerned. I'm surprised with the numbers given it appears QB's have been more rushed, or so it seemed?

[Blitz]

Do you have any stats B.C. Fan about how our Lions have fared with the deep ball (over 30 yds) in comparison with other CFL teams?

I know we were leading the league early this season in 30 yard plus receptions, with Arseault getting behind defenses but how have we fared in this area in past seasons?

[ziggy]

I don't want to turn a defensive thread into an offensive debate but some perspective is needed in discussing the drop in interceptions across the league. While the number of interceptions has fallen sharply this year, the average gain per pass and the number of big pass plays has generally risen over the past three years. Offences are throwing more deep balls and they're more efficient at it. Two of the best deep-ball throwers in the league, Ricky Ray and Darian Durant, have combined for 36 TD passes with just 2 interceptions. Here are some stats comparing the first 10 games of the past three seasons across the league:

Completion %:
2011 62.0
2012 64.4
2013 64.3

Interceptions:
2011 74
2012 74
2013 60

Big pass plays (30+ yards):
2011 112
2012 136
2013 137

Yards per pass attempt:
2011 8.0
2012 8.3
2013 8.4

It's possible that defensive players have dropped more passes this year and that the interception totals will pick up in the second half of the season but the overall evidence points to a more wide open but highly efficient passing game. My theory as to why this is happening is that the best passers are exploiting teams that blitz and play a lot of cover zero by successfully throwing over the top.

Do these numbers include YAC yards as well BC Fan, makes a difference as far as int's are concerned. I'm surprised with the numbers given it appears QB's have been more rushed, or so it seemed?

[Lion Guy]

Quite frankly I could care less how many picks they get, I would just like to see someone learn how to tackle. The last game against Hamilton I just couldn't believe how many times the first Lion at the scene was beaten cleanly. Over and over and over again. Marsh won't tackle to save his life, would rather just throw himself at the ball carrier hoping a hit will bring them down, Philips is the same way and Banks as well. Parks, Bell at least tey wrap up. LaRose? Shouldn't be playing.